Latch for doors and the like



W. H. SHEEHAN AND J. W. ECKARD.

LATCH FOR DOORS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-5,1920.

1,395,527, Patented Nov. 1, 1921.

2a 21 M 1 H L W UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

.WALTER H. SHEEHAN, OF STEUBENVILLE, AND JAMES W. ECKARD, OF MINGO JUNCTION, OHIO.

Specification of Letters Yatent.

Patented Nov. 1, 1921.

Application filed August 5, 1920. Serial No. 401,297.

To all whom it may concern Be it lmown that we, WALTER H. SHEEHAN' and J AMES W. ECKARD, citizens of the United States of America, and residents, respectively, of Steubenville and Mingo J unction, in the county of Jefferson and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvement in Latches for Doors and the like, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates broadly to latches for doors and the like, and it has for its primary object to provide a simple, eflicient, durable and comparatively inexpensive form of latch which is particularly adapted for use on the doors of passenger-automobiles.

In describing the invention in detail, reference is herein had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a vertical sectional elevatlon of fragmentary portions of an automobile door and the adjacent wall of the automobile body, illustrating our invention; and

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional elevation of the same.

Referring to said drawings, 1 indicates the door and 2 the adjacent body wall of a passenger automobile. Disposed in a recess 3 provided therefor in that edge of the body 2 which definesone side of the door opening, or doorway, is a circular vertically disposed disk 4 which has a portion of its periphery normally projected outward through an opening or slot 5 provided in a face-plate 6 which is countersunk in said edge in closing relation to said recess 3. Said disk is rotatably mounted upon a transverse pin 7 mounted in the arallel horizontally disposed members of a. yoke 8. Said yoke is movable horizontally in a tubular casing 9 which is mounted in, and projects into said recess from, a socket 10 provided in the body wall 2 rearward of said recess. A reduced stem 11 formed on said yoke is encircled by a coil spring 12 which has one end seated at the inner end of said socket and the other end resting against said yoke at the base of said stem. Said spring exerts a yielding tension upon the yoke whereby the disk 4 is normally maintained in the outwardly thrust position shown in the drawings. To provide for the reception of said disk slots 13 are provided in the upper and under sides of the projecting end of said casing 9.

Provided in the edge of the door 1 diface-plate 16 which rectly opposite the recess 3 is a recess 14 which registers with a slot 15 provided in a is countersunk in said edge of the door. When the door is in closed posit on the projecting peripheral edge of the dlsk 4 extends through, or lies within, the said slot 15 of the face-plate 16, as shown, for securing said door against chance opening thereof. 7

The disk 4 is of truncated cone form, havmg its peripheral edge sharply inclined or beveled, and is disposed with its beveled surface facing outward, as shown. The faceplate 18 has its inner lateral edge disposed flush with the plane of the inner side of the door and has a bevel 17 provided in its said edge in position to engage the beveled surface of the projecting edge of said disk 4 as the door is be ng swung to closed position. Following imtial engagement of the bevel 17 with said disk 4, the latter is gradually forced inward against the tension of its spring 12 untll its edge mounts the outer surface of said face-plate 16, whence said edge rides upon said surface until the slot 15 of said faceplate is reached, whereupon said disk dro s to normal outwardly-thrust position in said slot, being actuated by said spring. In said position, as is apparent, a substantial port1on of the inner flat face of said disk more or less closely engages the door, or the faceplate 16 thereof, for securing the door against movement.

Disposed loosely within the door-recess 14 and resting on edge upon a downwardly and inwardly inclined surface 18 constituting the bottom of said recess is a plain circular disk 19 which has a thickness closely approximating the Width of the recess and which, consequently, is maintained in upright edgewise position. The depth of said recess is such that said disk, when occupying the normal position to which it naturally gravitates on the inclined surface 18, lies closely adjacent to, but out of pressure-exerting relation with, the projecting peripheral edge of the disk 4 received within the slot of the face-plate 16. Projecting into the doorrecess 14 over the rearmost portion of the disk 19 is the tapered end of a vertically disposed pin 20 whereby said disk may be actuated to advance, or move forward, in said recess. Said pin is longitudinally movable through a casing 21 which is mounted in a socket provided therefor in the door 1 and which opens outward through the top of the door. A coil spring 22 disposed in encircling relation to the body of said pin has its lower end seated at the lower end of said casing 21 and rests at its upper end against a head23 of push-button form provided on the outer end of said pin. An enlarged outer end portion 21 of the casing 21 is adapted to receive said head 23 when the latter is pressed inward to lower said pin. Said spring 22 serves to normally hold said pin in an elevated position in which a flange or collar carried by the latter rests against the inner end of the casing, which is apertured to permit of longitudinal movement of the pin therethrough.

When the pin 20 is depressed by finger pressure applied to the head 23 thereof, the point or beveled end thereof enters behind the disk 19, wedging the latter forward in the recess 14. As said disk advances its forward edge engages the adjacent projecting edge of the latch disk 4 and thrusts the latter back against the tension of the spring to a point in which said latch disk is withdrawn from the slot 15 and, therefore, disengaged from the door, whereupon the latter may be swung open. L

In view of the fact that the latch disk 4 is rotatable and that, therefore, different beveled surface areas thereof will be presented to the face-plate 16 from time to time, the wear to which saiddisk will be subjected by frictional engagement with said faceplate in frequent closing of the door Wlll be more or less evenly distributed and will, therefore, be practically negligible.

It will be obvious that various changes may be made in the form and arrangement of some of the parts herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of the invention. We would, therefore, have it understood that we limit ourselves only to the extent required by a reasonable construction of the appended claims.

What is claimed is- 1. The combination with a door and an adjacent doorway-defining wall having confronting recesses in their meeting edges, of a latch for said door, said latch comprising a rotary disk located in one of said recesses, a yoke in which said disk is rotatably mounted, yieldable means normally holding said yoke and said disk thrust outward to a position in which a peripheral portion of the latter is received within the opposite recess for securing said door in closed position, and rotary means disposed within the last mentioned recess in engagement with the adjacent periphery of said disk and movable for thrusting the latter back within its recess.

2. The combination with a door and an adjacent doorway-defining wall having confronting recesses in their meeting edges, of

a latch for said door, said latch comprising a rotary disk located on one of said recesses, a yoke in which said disk is rotatabl mounted, yieldable means normally hol ing said yoke and said disk thrust outward to a position in which a peripheral portion of the latter is received within the opposite recess for securing said door in closed position, a disk loosely mounted within the last-mentioned recess and presenting a portion of its periphery to the adjacent portion of the periphery of the yieldingly-held disk, and means for advancing said loose disk outward for thrusting the other disk inward out of door-securing position.

3. The combination with a door and an adjacent doorway-defining wall having confronting recesses in their meeting edges, of a latch for said door, said latch comprising a rotatably mounted disk located in the recess of said wall, yieldable means normally holding said disk in an outwardly-thrust position in which a peripheral portion thereof is projected from its recess, said disk having its peripheral edge beveled, a face-plate carried by the edge of the door in position to interlock with the projecting portion of said disk when the door is in closed position, said plate having a beveled surface adapted to cooperate with the beveled edge of the projecting portion of said disk for forcing he latter inward during closing of the door, and rotary means in the door-recess whereby said projecting portion may be engaged for thrusting the latter inward out of interlocking relation to said plate.

4. The combination with a door and an adjacent doorway-defining wall having confronting recesses in their meeting edges, of a latch for said door, said latch comprising a rotatably mounted disk located in the recess of said wall, yieldable means normally holding said disk in an outwardly-thrust position in which a peripheral portion thereof is projected from its recess, said disk having its peripheral edge beveled, a face-plate carried by the edge of the door in position to interlock with the (projecting portion of said disk when the 001' is in closed position, said plate having a beveled surface adapted to cooperate with the beveled edge of the projecting portion of said disk for forcing the latter inward during closing of the door, a disk inclosed in the door-recess and presenting its peripheral edge in confronting relation to the projecting edge of said yieldably-held disk, and means for actuating said inclosed disk to move outward for thrusting said yieldablyheld disk inward out of interlocking relation to said plate.

5. The combination with a door and an adjacent doorway-defining wall having confronting recesses in their meeting edges, of a latch for said door, said latch comprising a rotatably mounted disk located in the recess of said wall, yieldable means normally holding said disk in an outwardly-thrust position in which a peripheral portion thereof is projected from its recess, said disk having its peripheral edge beveled, a faceplate carried by the edge of the door in position to interlock with the projecting portion of said disk when the door is in closed position, said plat-e having a beveled surface adapted to cooperate with the beveled edge of the projecting portion of said disk for forcing the latter inward during closing of the door, a disk inclosed in the door-recess and presenting its peripheral edge in confronting relation to the projecting edge of said yieldably-held disk, and a pin adapted for movement into a position behind said inclosed disk whereby the latter is advanced outward for thrusting said yieldably-held disk inward out of interlocking relation to said plate.

6. The combination with a door andan adjacent doorway-defining wall having confronting recesses in their meeting edges, of a latch for said door, said latch comprising a frusto-conical disk in the wall-recess, a yoke in which said disk is rotatably mounted, a spring normally holding said yoke in an outwardly thrust position in which a peripheral portion of said disk is projected outward from its recess, a member carried by the edge of the door adjacent to the recess of the latter and adapted to interlock with the projecting portion of said disk when the door is in closed position, said member having a beveled surface for cooperating with the inclined face of said projecting portion of said disk for forcing the latter inward during closing of the door, and rotary means operable in the door recess for forcibly engaging the edge of said projecting portion of said disk for thrusting the latter inward out of interlocking relation to said member.

7. The combination with a door and an adjacent doorway-defining wall having confronting recesses in their meeting edges, of a latch for said door, said latch comprising a frusto-conical disk in the wall-recess, a yoke in which said disk is rotatably mounted, a spring normally holding said yoke in an outwardly thrust osition in which a peripheral portion of sald disk is projected outward from its recess, a member carried by the edge of the door adjacent to the recess of the latter and adapted to interlock with the projecting portion of said disk when the door is in closed position, said member having a beveled surface for cooperating with the inclined face of said projecting portion of said disk for forcing the latter inward during closing of the door, a disk loosely disposed in the door recess in confronting relation to the first-mentioned disk, and manually operable means for propelling the last-mentioned disk outward against the edge of the projecting portion of the first-mentioned dlsk for thrusting the latter inward out of interlocking relation to said member.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

WALTER H. SHEEHAN. JAMES W. ECKARD. WVitnesses:

SADELLE WELDAY, E. M. MORROW. 

